The History of Provincetown Told Through Its Built Environment

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44 Harry Kemp Way

44 Harry Kemp Way, by David W. Dunlap (2011).

It’s a funny thing about government-sponsored affordable housing projects. They are seldom popular when begun. But eventually — for want of alternatives, among other reasons — they end up being prized. Maushope, named for a guardian deity of the Wampanoag people, is a 24-unit group residence for people 60 and older and for the disabled, whose rent is typically capped at 30 percent of their incomes. Built and maintained by the Provincetown Housing Authority, it opened in 1986, survived a devastating fire in 1996 that claimed the lives of Meara Cabral and Clifford Sylvia, and wound up in 2015 with a waiting list on which applicants might spend a decade. (It is also, incidentally, one of the few buildings in Provincetown with an elevator.)

More than 2,000 buildings and vessels are searchable on buildingprovincetown.com. The Building Provincetown book is available for purchase ($20) at Town Hall, Office of the Town Clerk, 260 Commercial Street, Provincetown 02657.